James Hogg
James Hogg (baptized 9 December 1770 - 21 November 1835) was a Scottish poet and novelist who wrote in both Scots and English. Life Overview Hogg belonged to a race of shepherds, and began life by herding cows until he was old enough to be trusted with a flock of sheep. His imagination was fed by his mother, who was possessed of an inexhaustible stock of ballads and folk-lore. He had little schooling, and had great difficulty in writing out his earlier poems, but was earnest in giving himself such culture as he could. Entering the service of Mr. Laidlaw, the friend of Scott, he was by him introduced to the poet, and assisted him in collecting material for his Border Minstrelsy. In 1796 he had begun to write his songs, and when on a visit to Edin. in 1801 he collected his poems under the title of Scottish Pastorals, etc., and in 1807 there followed The Mountain Bard. A treatise on the diseases of sheep brought him £300, on the strength of which he embarked upon a sheep-farming enterprise in Dumfriesshire which, like a previous smaller venture in Harris, proved a failure, and he returned to Ettrick bankrupt. Thenceforward he relied almost entirely on literature for support. With this view he, in 1810, settled in Edinburgh, published The Forest Minstrel, and started the Spy, a critical journal, which ran for a year. In 1813 The Queen's Wake showed his full powers, and finally settled his right to an assured place among the poets of his country. He joined the staff of Blackwood's, and became the friend of Wilson, Wordsworth, and Byron. Other poems followed. In his later years his home was a cottage at Altrive on 70 acres of moorland presented to him by the Duchess of Buccleuch, where he died greatly lamented. As might be expected from his almost total want of regular education, Hogg was often greatly wanting in taste, but he had real imagination and poetic faculty. Some of his lyrics like "The Skylark" are perfect in their spontaneity and sweetness, and his "Kilmeny" is one of the most exquisite fairy tales in the language. Hogg was vain and greedy of praise, but honest and, beyond his means, generous. He is a leading character, partly idealised, partly caricatured, in Wilson's Noctes Ambrosianæ.John William Cousin, "Hogg, James," A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature, 1910, 193-194. Web, Jan. 27, 2018. Youth Hogg was born in a small farm near Ettrick, Scotland, in 1770 and was baptized there on 9 December, his actual date of birth having never been recorded. He was wrong in his belief that his birthday, like Burns's, was 25 January and the year 1772. He was the 2nd of 4 sons born to Margaret (Laidlaw) and Robert Hogg, both of old border families.Bayne, 98. Owing to his father's failure in farming he received, according to his own account, less than a year's education in all, though in that time he was able to read the Bible and the catechism. At the age of 7 he began to herd ewes. For several years, in the course of which he fell in love for the 1st time and learned to play on the violin, he progressed in his calling, till he was fully qualified, in his 16th year, to act as shepherd at Willanslee. He now added to his scanty knowledge an acquaintance with Allan Ramsay's Gentle Shepherd and Blind Harry's Wallace, in Hamilton of Gilbertfield's version, regretting that they were not in prose or in the stanza of the metrical psalms.Bayne, 99. Farmer and author From 1790 to 1800 Hogg was shepherd to Mr. Laidlaw of Blackhouse, on the Douglas Burn, Yarrow, having as companions the farmer's sons (of whom William Laidlaw became Scott's friend and the author of Lucy's Flittin'). Hogg found books here that stimulated his intelligence, and the interaction with his young friends was likewise valuable. He began to be known as "the poeter," having made songs, as he says in his Autobiography, "for the lasses to sing in chorus." In 1793 he first saw the Perthshire highlands, having gone to Strathfillan with sheep, and he retained a lasting impression of their beauty. In 1796 he began with great difficulty to write his verses, his school training having merely introduced him to large text, and soon after Burns's death, in that year, hearing "a half daft man, Jock Scott by name," recite Tam o' Shanter, and learning from the reciter that the poem was by the "sweetest poet that ever was born," whose place would never be filled, he conceived it possible that he might become Burns's successor as a Scottish singer. His 1st printed piece was the spirited patriotic song "Donald m'Donald," written in reference to Napoleon's project of invasion, and widely popular as soon as printed in 1800. In this year, owing to his brother's marriage, Hogg settled at Ettrick, with his aged parents, to superintend their farm during the 3 remaining years of the lease. In 1801, while in Edinburgh with stock, he rashly collected his poetical pieces from memory, and they were roughly printed as Scottish Pastorals, Poems, Songs, &c. In 1802 he made the acquaintance of Scott, who was in quest of further materials for his Border Minstrelsy, of which 2 volumes had appeared. Both Hogg and his mother supplied him with ballads, the old lady being justifiably jealous of her rich store, and Hogg resolving to produce original material in the old style. When the lease of the farm expired in 1803, Hogg arranged with a neighbouring farmer to settle on a large sheep farm in Harris, writing in the prospect his "Farewell to Ettrick." The farm, however, turned out to be a disputed property, and possession was refused. Hogg, who lost much by this transaction, went to Mitchelstacks, Nithsdale, as a shepherd, and first met Allan Cunningham there. In 1807 Constable, through Scott's good offices, published Hogg's miscellaneous poems (the original ballads suggested by Scott's quest) under the title of The Mountain Bard, and the proceeds of this and a treatise on diseases of sheep, published at the same time, amounted to about £300, which he straightway lost in unsuccessful farming in Dumfriesshire. Failing to secure a commission in the militia, or a post in the excise, he returned a discredited bankrupt to Ettrick. Author and farmer Finding himself shunned owing to his misfortunes, and seeing no prospect of occupation in his native district, Hogg determined to try a literary career, and in 1810 settled in Edinburgh. Here he received substantial help from various friends, especially Messrs. Grieve & Scott, hatters, Grieve being an Ettrick man, and an ardent admirer of Hogg. The first literary project was the publication in 1810 of The Forest Minstrel, a miscellany of which he himself contributed about 2/3 — "every ranting rhyme," he says, "that I had made in my youth" — the rest being furnished by Thomas M. Cunningham and other friends. The Countess of Dalkeith, to whom the work was dedicated, presented Hogg with one hundred guineas, which was all the money that came of the venture. In September 1810 he started The Spy, a weekly critical journal, which deteriorated after its earlier numbers, and expired at the end of a year. Hogg now joined the Forum, an Edinburgh debating club, to which he attributed a considerable improvement in his literary style. As member of the club he composed several musical dramas and tragedies of no consequence. At Grieve's suggestion Hogg wrote in 1813 his most picturesque and imaginative work, The Queen's Wake, which was at once a great poetical if not financial success. In 1814 the 3rd edition was published by John Blackwood. Hogg was thus brought into contact with John Wilson and other literary men of Edinburgh, through whom he afterwards formed lifelong friendships with Wordsworth and Southey. Hogg sent a copy of The Queen's Wake to Lord Byron, who recommended it to John Murray. Murray undertook the publication in England of that and other of Hogg's works, and from 1813 corresponded with the poet on very friendly terms, lending him money and entertaining him in London. In 1815 he published the Pilgrims of the Sun, designed as the 1st of a series of ‘Midsummer Night Dreams’ (which he was not encouraged to continue), and in 1816 he issued Madoc of the Moor, a poem in Spenserian stanzs, embodying a slender narrative, but of fine descriptive quality, written 2 years before at Kinnaird House on the Tay, Perthshire. Neither produced much money. Hogg meditated a return to farming, and in an ingenious and characteristic letter endeavored to enlist the sympathies of the Duchess of Buccleuch, who had patronised him as Countess of Dalkeith. After the duchess's death, 5 months later, the duke, explaining that he was simply administering her bequest, gave Hogg, at a nominal rent, the farm of Eltrive Lake in Yarrow.Bayne, 100. To obtain the funds necessary for settling in Eltrive Lake, Hogg suggested a volume of poems by distinguished living poets. The proposal was unfavorably received by the coadjutors he selected, Scott sharply retorting that "every herring should hing by its ain head." Thereupon Hogg produced clever parodies of Wordsworth, Byron, Southey, Coleridge, Wilson, Scott, and himself (Thomas Pringle supplying an epistle in the manner of the Marmion introductions), publishing them, with an ingenious preface, in 1816 as The Poetic Mirror; or, The living bards of Great Britain. This work is marked by real poetic power and ingenious imitative faculty, though there is an occasional tendency towards burlesque (specially noticeable in the Wordsworth parodies). Hogg followed this with 2 volumes of unsuccessful dramatic tales, and then Scott, Blackwood, and other friends helped him to produce a handsomely illustrated edition of The Queen's Wake, dedicated to the Princess Charlotte (1818). To increase his reputation Scott sent Gifford in 1818 an article on his poems for the Quarterly Review, but it never appeared (Smiles, Murray, ii. 5). Nevertheless Hogg prospered at Eltrive, hospitably receiving numerous visitors attracted by his character and fame, and keeping up his connection with literary circles in Edinburgh. In 1817 he assisted at the inauguration of Blackwood's Magazine, contributing the kernel of the fateful Chaldee MS. He claimed his due credit in connection with this notorious document, though he cautiously admitted that the young lions in Edinburgh "interlarded it with a good deal of devilry of their own." In 1817 Hogg began his prose tales with The Brownie of Bodsbeck, and other Tales, in 2 volumes. This was followed in 1819 and 1820 by the 2 volumes of Jacobite Relics of Scotland, containing not only poems belonging to the period of the Stuart fall, but many of Hogg's own best lyrics, which are to this day favorite Jacobite songs. Likewise in 1820 he published Winter Evening Tales, drawn from his early experience, and charged with vivid reminiscences of border character and manners. In 1820 also he married Margaret Phillips, daughter of Mr. Phillips of Langbridgemoor, Annandale; and he presently leased, in addition to Eltrive Lake, the neighbouring farm of Mount Benger, which proved a disastrous venture. In 1822 he published The Three Perils of Man: War, women, and witchcraft. This he followed in 1823 with a work in 3 volumes, entitled The Three Perils of Women, which, though of inferior quality, brought him some money. He produced in 1824 Confessions of a Fanatic, originally titled, Confessions of a Justified Sinner. Strong and original, the work never became popular. In 1826 appeared his somewhat ambitious epic Queen Hynde,’ which, though not without ingenuity and poetic beauty, was coldly received, and discouraged Hogg from attempting another long poem. By this time he was the recognised ideal "Shepherd" in Blackwood's Magazine, alternately pleased and offended with Wilson's exuberant delineation. Meanwhile, being quit of Mount Benger, Hogg settled quietly at Eltrive, manfully wrestling with hosts of visitors (with whom he helped to give fame to St. Mary's Lake and the romantic hostel on it kept by Tibbie Shiels), and rejoicing in his growing family and his literary work. He contributed much under his own hand to Blackwood, and he made a collection of these articles in his Shepherd's Calendar in 1829. Blackwood this year also published a collection of about 140 of his songs, which proved successful.Bayne, 101. In 1832 Hogg visited London to arrange for a cheap reissue of his works. He was enthusiastically received, and was entertained at a public dinner, with Sir John Malcolm in the chair. After 3 months he returned, having engaged James Cochrane, Pall Mall, as publisher. Carlyle, observing these doings, characteristically remarks (Letters of Thomas Carlyle, ii. 10, ed. Norton): "It is supposed to be a trick of his Bookseller (a hungry shark on the verge of bankruptcy), who wishes to attract the Cockney population." When the 1st volume of Altrive Tales had appeared Cochrane failed, and the enterprise ended. He still wrote for periodicals, and in 1834 published a series of Lay Sermons and The Domestic Manners and Private Life of Sir Walter Scott; the latter deeply offended Lockhart, who viewed it as an intrusion upon his special domain. This year also Hogg prepared a fresh series of his stories, to be called Montrose Tales, and Cochrane, who was again in business, published them early in 1835. They were popular and likely to be profitable, when, at the end of the year, Cochrane again became bankrupt. Throughout the year Hogg had been in weak health, and before the failure of his publisher took place he died, 21 November 1835, and was buried near his birthplace in Ettrick churchyard. Writing The spontaneity, freshness, and energy of Hogg's verse are readily apparent. Certain of his lyrics, such as "When the Kye comes Hame," "Auld Joe Nicholson's Nanny," "Flora Macdonald's Farewell," and those on Jacobite themes, come as readily to the Scottish peasantry as the songs of Burns. The Queen's Wake is remarkable for its descriptive excellence and imaginative setting. The other poems, and the prose tales, especially those bearing on the people and the superstitions of the Scottish border land, are less known than they deserve. Hogg deserved the approbation he received from his distinguished compeers. Scott probably understood him best, and invariably advised him well, receiving him heartily after a period of alienation owing to the Poetic Mirror, and acting as peacemaker when Hogg became exasperated with Blackwood and the magazine. Wilson had a real and deep affection for the Ettrick Shepherd, as the idealism of the Noctes shows, and it is to be regretted that he did not write Hogg's biography, as at 1 time he intended. Southey's honest outspoken criticism and commendation were as heartily received by Hogg as they were given, and Wordsworth's memorial tribute strikes a true note of appreciation in crediting him with a "mighty minstrelsy." The bulk of Hogg's writing was bowdlerised in the 19th century and neglected for most of the 20th. Apart from The Confessions, which even his detractors acknowledged as unusually powerful (and often attributed to someone else, usually Lockhart), his novels were regarded as turgid, his verse as light, his short tales and articles as ephemera. But growing interest in The Confessions led to the rediscovery and reconsideration of his other work in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.James Hogg, Wikipedia, January 23, 2018, Wikimedia Foundation. Web, Jan. 27, 2108. In 1924, French writer André Gide was loaned Justified Sinner by Raymond Mortimer. Gide was amazed, writing that "It is long since I can remember being so taken hold of, so voluptuously tormented by any book." Its republication in 1947, with an enthusiastic introduction by Gide, helped bring about the modern critical and academic appreciation of this novel. Now his novel The Three Perils of Woman is also considered a classic and all his work, including his letters, is undergoing major publication in the Stirling/Carolina editions. However, Justified Sinner remains his most important work and is now seen as one of the major Scottish novels of its time, and absolutely crucial in terms of exploring one of the key themes of Scottish culture and identity: Calvinism. Critical introduction by William Minto Hogg owed his introduction to letters to the same sort of accident as Cunningham, and there was not a little similarity besides in their careers. Of both it may be said that there was as much of the elements of poetry in their lives as in their books. Hogg was a more boisterous character, with a much less firm grip of reality, and most at home in wild burlesque and the realms of unrestrained fancy. The combination of rough humor with sweetness and purity of sentiment is by no means rare; but Hogg is one of most eminent examples of it; all the more striking that both qualities were in him strongly accentuated by his demonstrative temperament. His humor often degenerates into deliberate loutishness, affected oddity; and his tenderness of fancy sometimes approaches ‘childishness,’ or, as the Scotch call it, ‘bairnliness.’ But with all his extravagances, there is a marked individuality in the Shepherd’s songs and poems; he was a singer by genuine impulse, and there was an open-air freshness in his note.from William Minto, "Critical Introduction: James Hogg (1770–1835)," The English Poets: Selections with critical introductions (edited by Thomas Humphry Ward). New York & London: Macmillan, 1880-1918. Web, Feb. 26, 2016. Recognition In 1833 Hogg was entertained at Peebles to a public dinner, presided over by John Wilson, when he asserted that having long sought fame he had found it at last. His widow received a royal pension in 1853.. On 28 June 1860 a substantial monument to the Ettrick Shepherd was inaugurated, on the slope behind Tibbie Shiels's retreat, and overlooking St. Mary's Lake and the Loch o' the Lowes. 2 of Hogg's poems, "A Boy's Song" and "Kilmeny", were included in the Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250-1900."A Boy's Song", Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250-1900 (edited by Arthur Quiller-Couch). Oxford, UK: Clarendon, 1919). Bartleby.com, Web, May 13, 2012. "Kilmeny", Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250-1900 (edited by Arthur Quiller-Couch). Oxford, UK: Clarendon, 1919). Bartleby.com, Web, May 13, 2012. A watercolor sketch of Hogg by S.P. Denning is in the National Portrait Gallery, London. Aikwood Tower, the home of Lord Steel, houses an exhibition on the life and work of James Hogg. In popular culture In a 2006 interview with Melvyn Bragg for ITV1, Scottish novelist Irvine Welsh cited Hogg, especially The Confessions as a major influence on his writing. Hogg's story "The Brownie Of The Black Haggs" was dramatised for BBC radio 4 in 2003 by Scottish playwright Marty Ross as part of his "Darker Side Of The Border" series. More recently Ross returned to the villain of that story, Merodach, making him the villain of a Doctor Who audiobook, Night's Black Agents(Big Finish Productions 2010.), in which this demonic figure assumes the pose of a Minister of the Kirk. Publications Poetry *''Scottish Pastorals: Poems, songs, etc. mostly written in the dialect of the South. Edinburgh: J. Taylor, 1801. *The Mountain Bard: Consisting of ballads and songs, founded on facts and legendary tales. Edinburgh: Archibald Constable, 1807. *''The Forest Minstrel: A selection of songs adapted to the most favorite Scottish airs, few of them ever before published (edited by Thomas Mounsey Cunningham). Edinburgh: Thomas Mounsey Cunningham, 1810; Philadelphia: M. Carey / Boston: Wells & Lilly, 1810. **''The Mountain Bard and Forest Minstrel: Consisting of legendary poems and songs. Glasgow: G. Love, 1839; London: C. Daly, 1839. *The Queen's Wake: A legendary poem. Edinburgh: George Goldie / London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown, 1813. *The Pilgrims of the Sun: A poem. Edinburgh: William Blackwood / London: John Murray, 1815; Philadelphia: Moses Thomas, 1815. *The Poetic Mirror; or, The living bards of Britain. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, & Brown, 1816. *Mador of the Moor: A poem. Edinburgh: William Blackwood, 1816. *''The Poetical Works. (4 volumes), Edinburgh: Archibald Constable, 1822. Volume I, Volume II, Volume III, Volume IV. *''Queen Hynde: A poem in six books. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, 1825, **''Queen Hynde (edited by Douglas S. Mack & Suzanne Gilbert). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1997. *''Songs by the Ettrick Shepherd. Edinburgh: William Blackwood, 1831. (songs/poetry) *The Poetical Works of the Ettrick Shepherd. Glasgow: Blackie, 1838. *''The Poems of James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd (edited by Mary Gray Hogg Garden). London: Walter Scott, 1886. *''The Songs of the Ettrick Shepherd. Edinburgh: T.N. Foulis, 1911. *''Selected Poems. Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd, 1940; Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 1970. *''Selected Poems and Songs'' (edited by David Groves). Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press, 1986. Novel *''The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown & Green, 1824. **London: Vintage Classics, 2009; Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2012; London: Penguin Books, 2012. Short fiction *''The Brownie of Bodsbeck, and other tales. Edinburgh: William Blackwood / London: John Murray, 1818; New York: Charles Wiley, 1818. Volume I, Volume II. **''The Brownie of Bodsbeck. Edinburgh: Nimmo, 1882; Edinburgh & London: Scottish Academic Press, 1976. *''Winter Evening Tales: Collected among the cottagers in the south of Scotland. (2 volumes), Glasogw, Blackie, 18-?; New York: Van Winckle, 1820. Volume I, Volume II. *''The Three Perils of Man; or, War, women, and witchcraft'' London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, & Brown, 1822. *''The Three Perils of Woman; or, Love, leasing, and jealousy''. (3 volumes), London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green, 1823; New York: printed by J. & J. Harper, 1823. Volume I, Volume II, Volume III. **(edited by Antony Hasler & Douglas S. Mack). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2002. *''The Brownie of the Black Haggs''. 1828. (short story/tale) *''Tales of the Wars of Montrose''. London: James Cochrane, 1835; Philadelphia: E.L. Carey, 1836. Volume I, Volume II, Volume III. **(edited by Gillian Hughes). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1996. *''The Shepherd's Calendar''. (2 volumes), Edinburgh: William Blackwood / London: T. Cadell, 1829; New York: A.T. Goodrich, 1829. Volume I, Volume II. *''Tales and Sketches of the Ettrick Shepherd''. Glasgow, Blackie, 1837. Volume I, Volume II, Volume III, Volume IV, Volume V, Volume VI. *''Noctes Ambrosianae'' (with John Wilson, John Gibson Lockhart, et. al.). Philadelphia: Carey & Hart, 1843; New York: Redfield, 1854. *''The Tales of James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd. London: Hamilton Adams / Glasgow: Thomas D. Morrison, 1880. *''Selected Stories and Sketches (edited by Douglas S. Mack). Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press, 1982. Non-fiction *''The Shepherd's Guide: Being a practical treatise on the diseases of sheep, their causes, and the best means of preventing them. Edinburgh: A. Constable, 1807. *The Domestic Manner and Private Life of Sir Walter Scott'' (with S. DeWitt Bloodgood). Glasgow: John Reid, 1834 **also published as Familiar Anecdotes of Sir Walter Scott New York: Harper, 1834. *''A Series of Lay Sermons: On good principles and good breeding'' (edited by Gillian Hughes & Douglas S. Mack). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1997. Edited *''The Jacobite Relics of Scotland: Being the songs, airs, and legends, of the adherents to the house of Stuart.. Edinburgh: William Blackwood, 1819. *''Altrive Tales: Collected among the peasantry of Scotland, and from foreign adventurers. London: James Cochrane, 1832. *Robert Burns, Works (edited with William Motherwell). (5 volumes), Edinburgh: A. Fullarton, 1834-1836. Collected editions *''A Shepherd's Delight: A James Hogg anthology''. Edinburgh: Canongate Books, 1985. *''Collected Works'' (edited by Douglas S. Mack). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1995-2012. Letters *''A Tour in the Highlands in 1803: A series of letters by James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, addressed to Sir Walter Scott. Paisley, UK: A. Gardner, 1888; Edinburgh: James Thin, The Mercat Press, 1986. *''Collected Letters. (3 volumes), Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. **''Volume I, 1800-1819'' (edited by Gillian Hughes), 2004; **''Volume II, 1820-1831'' (edited by Gillian Hughes), 2006; **''Volume III, 1832-1835'' (edited by Gillian Hughes, Douglas S. Mack, Robin MacLachlan, & Elaine Petrie}, 2008 Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:James Hogg, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Aug. 31, 2013. See also *List of British poets References * . Wikisource, Web, Jan. 27, 2018. * Sir George Douglas, James Hogg in the "Famous Scots Series" published by Oliphant, Anderson and Ferrier, 1899. * Karl Miller, The Electric Shepherd: A likeness of James Hogg. 2004. Notes External links ;Poems *Hogg in The English Poets: An anthology: "A Boy's Song" *Hogg in the Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250-1900: "A Boy's Song," "Kilmeny" *Hogg in English Poetry II: From Collins to FitzGerald: "Kilmeny," "When the Kye Come Home," "The Skylark," "Lock the Door, Lariston" * James Hogg at PoemHunter (10 poems) *James Hogg (1770-1835) info & 20 poems at English Poetry, 1579-1830 *James Hogg at Poetry Nook (27 poems) ;Books * ;Audio / video *James Hogg poems at YouTube ;About *James Hogg in the Encyclopædia Britannica * James Hogg at NNDB * Jaames Hogg at BBC - Writing Scotland *James Hogg at the University of Sterling * Hogg, James (1770-1835) ;Etc. *The James Hogg Society weblog Category:1770 births Category:1835 deaths Category:People from the Scottish Borders Category:Lallans poets Category:Scottish biographers Category:Scottish non-fiction writers Category:Scottish novelists Category:Scottish poets Category:Scottish political writers Category:Scottish short story writers Category:Scottish songwriters Category:Yarrow Valley Category:19th-century poets Category:Poets Category:English-language poets Category:Scots-language poets